The Alemán Sexenio, 1946-52

The Alemán presidency marked a turning point in contemporary Mexican
politics. With the election of Alemán (a lawyer by profession), the
torch was passed to a new generation of civilian politicians who had not
participated in the military campaigns of the Revolution. The age of the
generals in Mexican politics was over. Henceforth, the military assumed
a low profile, surrendering many of its institutional prerogatives to a
civilian-dominated PRI.

Alemán's presidency was also noteworthy because it represented the
consolidation in power of a PRI faction that was more probusiness and
less nationalistic than the Cárdenas wing of the party. One of Alemán's
first acts as president was to reaffirm amicable postwar relations
between Mexico and the United States. In a symbolic gesture of
rapprochement, United States President Harry S Truman and President Alemán
visited each other's countries. On September 2, 1947, Mexico was among
the signatories of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
(Rio Treaty), which outlined a system of mutual defense on the part of
Western Hemisphere nations against outside aggression.

The Alemán administration attempted to promote industrialization and
economic growth by embarking on an extensive program of infrastructure
improvements. Major flood control and irrigation projects were built in
northern Mexico, greatly expanding the opportunities for large-scale
agribusiness. The exploitation of cheap hydroelectric power and the
expansion of the national road network were undertaken to help spur
heavy industry and tourism. By the end of Alemán's sexenio in
1952, Mexico had four times as many kilometers of paved roads (roughly
16,000 kilometers) as in 1946. Another legacy of the Alemán era was the
completion in 1952 of a new campus--in what was then suburban Mexico
City--for the flagship of the Mexican university system, the National
Autonomous University of Mexico (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México--UNAM).

Alemán was viewed as much less sympathetic than his immediate
predecessors to the demands of labor and the rural populations of
central and southern Mexico. To promote growth without generating high
inflation, the government acted through the PRI-affiliated unions to
suppress the wage demands of labor. The government also began a new
strategy of "stabilizing development." The new program was
based on promoting industrialization through import substitution (see
Glossary), heavy subsidies of industry, and maintaining low inflation by
suppressing real wages.

Further straying from the ideals of the Revolution, Alemán's
administration became noted for its tolerance of official corruption.
The government's growing involvement in the economy provided ample
opportunities for kickbacks and other forms of illicit enrichment, and
several senior government officials became wealthy while in office. The
scale of official venality was enough to spark a public outcry and
protests from within the PRI. To restore popular faith in the ruling
party, Alemán nominated Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, a former governor of
Veracruz, minister of interior, and a man noted for his impeccable
character, to succeed him in 1952.